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Harlequins No8 Alex Dombrandt and London Irish opposite number Albert Tuisue know all about international rejection and will use their head-to-head clash tomorrow to continue battling for test rugby recognition.
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Dombrandt has just been crowned Premiership Player of the Month and despite a series of storming performances in club colours he has failed to convince Eddie Jones that he is ready to fill the England Six Nations squad void created by Billy Vunipola’s fourth broken arm.
Uncapped Dombrandt is yet to experience test rugby while Tuisue has played seven times for Fiji having given up a career in the Island’s police force to follow his dream. Despite breaking into the Fiji team under coach John McKee, Tuisue had to deal with the bitter disappointment of failing to make the final 2019 Rugby World Cup squad in Japan. With McKee now having been replaced by former Scotland coach and current Montpellier director of rugby Vern Cotter, the door could now be open for the hard-running ball carrier to earn a recall.
Like Dombrandt, Tuisue knows that impressing in the Premiership is the only way he can move up the rankings and Less Kiss, the London Irish head coach, believes his No8 has all the attributes to impress Cotter when he takes over as Fiji coach in the summer.
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Kiss has seen Tuisue carry the ball 117 times, including 15 during the morale boosting away win at Northampton for an Irish side that is still evolving following the arrival of high profile players including Wallaby test stars Adam Coleman and Sekope Kepu. Irish have just returned from a warm weather training camp near Alicante and now they must try to build on that win over Northampton by subduing Dombrandt and his fellow Quins at the Twickenham Stoop.
Kiss is relishing the clash of the 18stones No8’s and told RugbyPass: “It is going to be a really good battle and Albert floats under the radar for us because he does a lot of the dirty work and carrying. He takes a lot of pressure off the other backrow guys and when we first got Albert over here we thought he had done enough to make the World Cup but he wasn’t selected. That hurt him a bit and he came back to us as a man on a mission and playing in the Premiership has to be good for him going forward.
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“Vern (Cotter)is going to see a lot of Albert playing at this level and the great thing about him is he is robust and keeps trucking along. Dombrandt is another beast and he is a good footballer and the battle between them off the base of the scrum is going to be massive. The battle of the back rows will be pretty juicy.
“We are exploring who we are at the moment and Sekope has only been with us for five weeks and that win at Northampton had an impact. You need to go through tough situations and forge something worthy from it an the most pleasing thing was the players fought so hard and to get the victory has to do something for confidence. However, this game can give you a kick in the butt. We trained near Alicante because we didn’t have a getaway pre-season and felt that the most important time to go away was when everyone is here.
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“Because we have had to drip-feed new players in has given the season its own character and we had a wobble over the Christmas period but we now have everyone involved.”
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That “everyone” includes Ireland international Sean O’Brien, one of the club’s major summer signings who is still battling to overcome injury. The good news for tenth-placed Irish is that the flanker could be in the mix in a month which makes the second half of the season really significant even if the threat of relegation has been removed due to Saracens’ fall from grace. A fit-again O’Brien allied to the summer move to their new home at the Brentford stadium makes this an exciting time for the club.
Kiss added: “Sean is coming along and has done some full-on contact work and hopefully over the next month we should get some clarity about the timeline. He is getting closer.
“When I heard that Saracens were going to be relegated the alarms bells rang because this game doesn’t give you anything and you wondered if people would take their foot off the accelerator. Thankfully, that hasn’t been the case. I think there is still pressure because you don’t want to come second last in the league.“
Comments on RugbyPass
SBW is fast becoming a laughing stock, his misplaced comments & lack of insight Is actually pretty sad.
3 Go to commentsJust well you guys are couch 🛋 potatoes selector's, picking a team of greenhorns to play England! “What are you people smoking?” The halfbacks will be Christie, Fakatava, Perenara Props; Newell, Bower, Lomax, Tunga'fasi, Hookers; Asosa Amua when fit, Taylor, Samisoni,
11 Go to commentsQuite frankly, all this is a bit pathetic. The first time Wales get the Wooden Spoon in 21 years and everyone is on the bandwagon for a ‘play-off’ game. Wales have no obligation to Georgia and no obligation to the rest of the Six Nations to play such a game. If they want Georgia in so badly then they need to include South Africa into a Northern Hemisphere competition with 2 leagues of 4 teams with the top 2 competing for the Championship. Sadly, this will end Triple Crowns and Grand Slams forever. Is this really what you want?
4 Go to commentsI think Finau to start Blackadder to come on. Poss Prokter instead of Ioane, haven't seen much from Reiko so far this year.
11 Go to commentsJoe will have had a good chat with Dave Rennie, a smart move to begin with while it’s doubtful Fast Eddie will be consulted? Plenty of Aus players hitting top form so they should go OK.
3 Go to commentsMmm. Not sure I like this article or see it as necessary.
3 Go to commentsBlackadder but no Finau! 😀 It’s Razor so you are probably right, plus Taylor at 2…
11 Go to commentsThe strongest possible AB side would actually include Aaron Smith, Bodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock, Leicester Fainga'anuku, Shannon Frizzel.. don’t get me started on the rest of the injury hit brigade that got flung on the heap so left. Many a whole not getting filled as of yet.
11 Go to commentsI don’t think anyone knows what Schmidt will do, one thing is certain it ain’t gonna be all the picks we on the keyboard will think. My impression of him is that he will be looking at who can step up and what is the best combination. He will ignore individuals as he looks for guys who can build a powerful team and not just guys who can make a flashy run or ignore the winger as they want to score themselves.
3 Go to commentsSome dumb selections there. Not Porecki Not Donaldson Not Gordon Not Lonegran - both Not Nic White - Fines instead Not Liam Wright Not Paisami Definitely not Vunivalu Other than that not bad.
3 Go to commentsI've never been convinced that Patty T is a test match all black. Otherwise I probably agree it's the best side available to beat the poms. Caveat that Codie Taylor is yet to be seen and could very likely warrant selection by June. I hope that Razor brings the young loosies, half backs and locks into the training squad and develops/ selects the best
11 Go to commentsYou doing the same thing I disliked about the example of Samisoni Taukei'aho, Nick. He’s great the way he is, you’re trying to do what modern-day coaches frustrate me doing, turning everyone into the perfect athlete. Next thing you’ll be telling me you’ll bench him until he’s hit that arbitrary marker, and can’t overtake the current guy who’s doing all his workons. He’s a young Kieran Read, through and through, plays wide and has threat, mainly (and evident in your clips) through his two hand carry and speed. Just let him work on that, or whatever he wants, and determine his own future. Play God and you risk the players going sideways, like Read did, instead of being a Toutai Kefu. I mean I was in the same camp for a while, wanting our tight five to have the size, and carry ability, as the teams they were getting beat by. Now I’m starting to believe those teams just have better skilled and practiced individuals, bigger by upwards of 5kg sometimes, sure, but more influentially they have those intrinsic skills of trust and awareness. Basically our guys just didn’t know wtf they were doing. Don’t think I’m trying to prove a point here but hasn’t Caleb Clarke been in much better form this year, or does he just ‘look’ better now that he’s not always trying to use his size?
44 Go to commentsThe pack lacks a little in height for the line out and I wouldn’t be completely convinced by some of the combinations till we see it in action.
11 Go to commentsThe side is good but lacks experience. International playing bona fides udually trumps super rugby form for good reason. And incumbents are usually stuck with. Codie Taylor should start or come off the bench. B Barrett will start at fullback. Blackadder has not earned the position, Finau has. TJs experience and competitiveness earns him a starting role, Christie or Ratima off the bench
11 Go to commentsPretty good side. Scott Barrett should be the captain. Ethan Blackadder a great choice at blindside. He is going to go from strength to strength having made a couple of starts for the Crusaders. Scott Robertson rates him highly. Perenara could start a no 9.
11 Go to commentsI question and with respect. Was enough done over the last few years to bring through new blood knowing the Whitelocks and co couldn’t last forever. There should have been more done to future proof the team. New squad new coach, he and they weren’t set up well. IMO
6 Go to commentsJacobsen will definitely be in the 23
11 Go to commentsLots of discussion points, Ben, but two glaring follies IMO: 1. Blackadder at 6. Has done nothing so far this season to justify his selection. Did you see him going backwards in contact at the weekend? Simply has not got the physical presence at 6: we need a Scott Barrett or a Finau (or wildcard Ah Kuoi), beasts who are big enough to play lock, like Frizzell. If Barret played at 6, Paddy could be joined at lock by Vai’i or one of the young giants we need to promote, like Darry or Lord (if he ever gets on the field). Blackadder best left to join the queue for 7. 2. Not even a mention for Christie? Ratima gets caught at crucial times at the back of the ruck when he hesitates on the pass. The only way he starts would be if Christie and TJ are injured.
11 Go to commentsWhat a dagg in more ways than one
6 Go to commentsRegroup come back next year but sack some of the coaching team and don't be like the ABs last minute sacking. If Crusaders don't do well ABs don't do well.
5 Go to comments